From WO97/0007920 a telephone instrument for use in a vehicle is known. The known telephone instrument had a mobile telephone (Handy) and a receptacle device with a receptacle space for the mobile telephone. The mobile telephone could be removed from this receptacle space. The mobile telephone was held by a catch located on one of the narrow sides of the receptacle space. The catch was a slide that was pushed over the antenna base that extended over the surface of the mobile telephone.
From JP-A-07 135521 another telephone instrument with a mobile telephone and a receptacle device for said telephone is known. On the lower side wall of its receptacle space for the mobile telephone, the receptacle device had a protruding spring-secured nose that was mechanically connected to a plug. When the mobile telephone was placed in the receptacle space, the lower narrow side of the mobile telephone pushed this nose back, thus causing the plug to make electrical contact. That is, the plug contacts were connected in terms of power and signals only when the mobile telephone was hung up. When the mobile telephone was picked up, this connection was broken. There was no protection, however, for the plug against dirt that might get into its plug recess.
The object of the invention is to create a telephone instrument with a mobile telephone (Handy) especially for use in a vehicle which, in its xe2x80x9charshxe2x80x9d environment, can be securely held and reliably installed and can still be grasped easily for pick-up.
This object is accomplished by virtue of the fact that a mobile telephone that can be removed from a receptacle space of a receptacle device can be securely held by at least one catch that grips its surface area when hung up and, for pick-up after the safety is disconnected, it can be readily removed by a push-out element part way from the receptacle device to ensure a good grip. In order to ensure ease of handling, the catch is preferably located in the upper area of the receptacle device in its narrow side, i.e., adjacent to the earpiece of the hung-up mobile telephone.
The hung-up mobile telephone is preferably released by moving a catch element of the catch parallel to its longitudinal axis. In order to be able to initiate this movement, an actuation button must be depressed whose top protrudes only slightly above the surface of the catch element. The extent of the projection is selected such that the button can be readily detected by touch. Actuation (release) takes place only when the button is depressed below the upper surface of the catch element, whereby the depression travel is selected to be large enough that accidental contact will not cause actuation.
In order to keep the mobile telephone from xe2x80x9crattlingxe2x80x9d in the receptacle device under xe2x80x9charshxe2x80x9d ambient conditions such as occur, for example, in a moving vehicle, the telephone must rest snugly in the receptacle device. Because of differences in temperature and material between the mobile telephone and the receptacle device, the two may stick together. In order nevertheless to ensure easy pick-up, upon release for pick-up the mobile telephone is lifted a short way out of the receptacle device with a lever as a push-up element and is then put into the grip position by a compression spring that is preferably located in the receptacle device underneath the earpiece of the mobile telephone.
Electrical power and/or signals is/are transferred between the mobile telephone and receptacle device via a jack that is preferably located in the lower area of the receptacle device. In order to keep metal objects such as coins, hair clips, and paper clips from falling into this area and causing a short-circuit across the contacts of the jack, in an alternate embodiment a jack cover is provided. When the mobile telephone is picked up, the jack is always covered. Only when the mobile telephone is replaced are the contacts released.
Examples of the telephone instrument according to the invention are described in greater detail below with the aid of drawings. Other advantages of the invention emerge from the following description. Here: